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HENRY Names CEO
Rocky Mount,
NC
– Chad Seymour, president of C.S. Henry Transfer, Inc. and Henry
Dock Works, Inc. since mid-2001, now has the additional designation
of chief executive officer of both firms, effective January
1,
2006.
The
announcement was made jointly by the other two stockholders and
members of the board of directors of both companies, Marshall and
Gayle Henry, Seymour’s parents, both of whom will remain active with
the organization.
Marshall
Henry, chairman of The HENRY Companies and last CEO, said “Our
organization started 75 years ago in Rocky Mount by my grandfather
C.S. Henry as a one-truck operation. Ours is a family business,
which has been sustained by continuously evolving and reinventing
itself over time as opportunities have come our way.”
C.S. Henry,
the man, never went to school or learned to read and write. Yet in
1931, even without formal education, he was able to get the ball
rolling as founder of a new business venture, He called it C.S.
Henry Transfer.
“My father,
M. Webster Henry, who succeeded his own to become second generation
owner and operator of the family enterprise, kept the little ball
rolling and growing in earnest following his return from the South
Pacific late in WW II where he gained experience as a young motor
transport officer in the Marines. In the ensuing years, he made his
mark not only as a local businessman but also as a recognized motor
carrier industry leader,
“I represent
the third generation,” said Marshall Henry. “Much has been written
about family businesses and how the third generation often
dissipates all that has gone before. Therefore, it has been a
special challenge to grow our business instead of seeing it washed
away in a flood or gone by the wayside from other circumstances.
“Before
Hurricane Floyd in September, 1999, having hauled freight for close
to 70 years, we had a chance to start a related venture as part of
HENRY. By the close of its first year, 1997, we had made it a
separate corporate entity, with the name Henry Dock Works, Inc.”
Seymour, 35,
and a 1988 graduate of Rocky Mount High School, attended NCSU, and
then earned a B.S. degree in Marine Biology from UNC-W. He
completed graduate studies in mariculture at Texas A&M University in
Corpus Christi, TX. and worked in the aquaculture industry several
years.
Seymour
joined Dock Works at the end of 1997, having worked for C.S. Henry
Transfer, Inc. in the maintenance shop throughout high school. He
traveled several years ‘from sea to shining sea,’ literally,
developing the new HENRY business and training crews of cargo
handling specialists for Dock Works. This was all before meeting
and later marrying his wife, former DeeAnn Ezzell of Nash County, in
2001.
A year after
the Flood of Floyd ravaged much of Eastern North Carolina and Rocky
Mount, including its site and facilities, HENRY saw, for long-term
survival, the need to shed its interstate fleet, and sold its
trucking assets – trucks, some trailers, and customer accounts – to
EPES in Greensboro – in early 2001.
Avoiding
financial disaster was possible only because Dock Works had gained
sufficient momentum by then to allow HENRY to exit its long
established motor carrier operation and emerge, re-invented, as a
broader transportation and warehousing solutions organization.
“We
transitioned successfully from the truck driver’s seat to the rear
of the trailer by increasing focus on the growth of Henry Dock
Works, Inc. as cargo handlers and on-site warehouse service
providers to the food service industry. Today, we have employee
crews in over 25 distribution center locations in 10 states,
unloading trucks and handling goods for our foodservice clients and
delivering truckers.”
“At the same
time, we looked at our remaining assets, including our experience as
truckers. HENRY maintains an inventory of 100 van trailers for
rental as storage or use over-the-road. Even though the company no
longer operates a fleet of trucks long distance, HENRY is actively
increasing local, dedicated trucking and warehousing services close
to home.
HENRY’s
latest venture, Global Trade Works, provides inland transportation
for domestic and international cargo of various shapes and sizes.
Without a fleet of its own now, c.s.HENRY Transfer, Inc. uses other
carriers to pick up and deliver its customer loads, which move on
various types of equipment.
“For a
business to be alive and well after 75 years and three generations
of family defies all odds and is seen seldomly. Although proud of
the accomplishment, we’re humble and far from resting on our
laurels. Continuity with change, as with the Henry Dock Works
metaphor, is possible only as long as we continue to have young
leaders with fresh ideas, who will help us, grow and succeed.”
That’ll be a
top priority for the fourth generation of this Rocky Mount based
business, now known as The HENRY Companies. However, Chad Seymour,
the new chief, enthusiastically reminds us of the organization’s
catchy slogan, “Relax. We can handle
it!”
Rocky Mount telegram February
20, 2006 |
